Release Dr Hussam Abu Safia immediately!

Dr Hussam Abu Safia’s beingness is successful imminent danger. This is what his lawyer Nasser Odeh said aft visiting him connected Thursday successful an underground interrogation facility, portion of Israel’s Nitzan Prison.

If we bash not enactment immediately, Gaza whitethorn suffer yet different superb doctor, and Israel whitethorn get distant with yet different brutal crime.

Abu Safia, a Palestinian paediatrician and infirmary director, archetypal captured the planetary spotlight connected December 27, 2024. That time footage surfaced of him wearing a achromatic doctor’s overgarment and walking done the bombed-out rubble of what was erstwhile a bluish Gaza thoroughfare towards an armoured conveyance wherever Israeli soldiers were waiting for him.

He was not surrendering an army; helium was surrendering the tiny but captious Kamal Adwan Hospital aft 85 days of siege arsenic his unit and patients were forced to permission astatine gunpoint. A infirmary that should person been protected by planetary law, planetary leaders and the United Nations but alternatively was attacked, deprived of medicine, energy and supplies.

At least 30 radical were killed and 20 injured successful the infirmary erstwhile Israeli troops stormed it connected December 6, 2024. When his teenage lad Ibrahim was killed extracurricular the hospital, Abu Safia said the ceremonial prayers himself earlier rushing backmost to his kid patients.

The photograph and video of Abu Safia’s past moments of state were shared globally connected societal media, capturing the attraction of millions and demonstrating the limits of societal media activism. The planetary spotlight didn’t alteration his oregon Gaza’s destiny oregon the authorities of the rogue state of Israel.

Abu Safia is not a “terrorist” nor a “combatant”. If anything, helium is the defender of beingness who stands by his patients: Palestinian children nether Israeli occupation, targets of bombing, sniper occurrence and the sadistic Israeli siege causing wide starvation, thirst, illness and premature decease among them.

Dr Hussam Abu Safia was detained by Israeli soldiers connected December 27, 2024
[Screenshot/Al Jazeera]

Israel claims Abu Safia is “affiliated with Hamas” and has detained him nether the Unlawful Combatants Law. No grounds has been presented to beryllium these allegations, nary transgression indictment has been brought, and nary autarkic perceiver has been capable to analyse the quality said to warrant his detention.

On June 10, Abu Safia was yet seen successful nationalist aft much than 500 days of brutal imprisonment. He appeared via videolink from the dreaded Nafha Prison during an Israeli Supreme Court proceeding successful Jerusalem. He was handcuffed and shackled, looked emaciated and unwell, but helium had a calm and dignified posture. Less than a period later, his lawyer visited him successful Nitzan Prison. He had occupation recognising his lawsuit due to the fact that helium was truthful severely beaten and was losing consciousness during the meeting.

Abu Safia is 1 of hundreds of Palestinian aesculapian workers whom Israel has detained. Fourteen doctors, including him, stay successful Israeli detention camps and prisons. Two person not made it retired alive, and 1,700 healthcare workers have been killed.

Why are Palestinian medics and infirmary unit arrested, detained, tortured and killed by Israel? For decades, Israeli concern forces person been targeting Palestinian healthcare, successful usurpation of planetary law, to beforehand taste cleansing and corporate punishment arsenic portion of their settler-colonial project. The Israeli epistemicide aims to erase each signs of Palestinian knowledge, infrastructure and civilian society.

To screen up their crimes, the Israeli subject has claimed that Gaza’s hospitals are subject hideouts oregon “command centres” for the Palestinian equipped resistance. To date, they person not been capable to nutrient independent, verifiable impervious of this. I person myself worked successful assorted hospitals successful Gaza for 25 years, mostly astatine al-Shifa successful Gaza City, and ne'er ever seen immoderate impervious of specified usage of either hospitals oregon ambulances.

The arrest, maltreatment and torture of Palestinian medics and different unit from Gaza’s hospitals purpose to unit mendacious confessions of specified usage of hospitals successful Gaza. Unsuccessfully. My colleagues person ne'er yielded. They person stood by the truth.

But determination is different Israeli information for detaining and mass-killing aesculapian workers arsenic well. Hospital unit carnivore witnesser and are straight progressive successful documenting Israeli warfare crimes. Since the commencement of the genocide, paediatricians similar Abu Safia person raised the alarm astir Israel’s purposeful targeting of Palestinian children with the purpose of extermination.

What they person said each on was yet captured successful a recently released UN report that concluded that determination was wide grounds of “Israel’s deliberate and nonstop targeting of Palestinian children” and the demolition of “the essence of childhood”.

More than 24,000 of Gaza’s children person been killed, an mean of 1 Palestinian kid killed by Israeli concern forces every hr for 1,000 days.

As of September, astatine slightest 1,009 of the killed children were babies oregon toddlers. Nearly fractional (450) of these babies were calved and killed during the war. At slightest 42,011 children person been injured.

One cardinal Palestinian children stay nether the sadistic Israeli siege, homeless, nutrient insecure and without entree to harmless drinking water, regular schooling oregon due aesculapian care. The sidesplitting and maiming of Gaza’s children continues connected a regular basis.

A elder Gaza paediatrician precocious described to maine the beingness of Gaza’s schoolchildren thus:

“The astir important tasks that schoolhouse students execute each greeting are: firstly, the hunt for water; secondly, the hunt for nutrient astatine nutrient organisation centres; and thirdly, collecting immoderate discarded that tin beryllium utilized arsenic kindling. … So each morning, you find hundreds of children rummaging done the garbage, searching for thing that tin beryllium utilized to commencement a fire.”

Like the killed and starved children of Gaza, Abu Safia is simply a salient awesome of Israel’s rogue nature. That is why, the Israeli authorities proceed to torture him and support him successful solitary confinement portion Israeli courts contradict his appeals for release.

My Palestinian colleagues successful Gaza are not conscionable calling for Abu Safia’s release, for humanitarian alleviation for hospitals and for an extremity to the targeting of aesculapian workers. They are demanding an contiguous extremity to the concern and siege and the restoration of the basal conditions that marque wellness possible: quality security, dignity, food, water, justness and the extortion of civilian life. The basal occupation successful Gaza now, arsenic it was 1,000 days ago, is the United States-supported Israeli assemblage occupation, the sadistic siege, structural unit and apartheid.

Neither an planetary band-aid with a fewer Israeli-controlled visiting planetary aesculapian teams nor planetary bare articulator work with passive condemnation volition alteration the situation. The lone mode guardant from a preventive aesculapian position is harsh ceremonial planetary sanctions and isolating boycotts of Israel to halt this genocide, extremity the concern and prevention lives.

Time is moving out. History volition justice us. There are nary excuses.

Do something, bash much – oregon beryllium complicit.

This is our responsibility; this is the work of each Western politician, parliament and government. Everyone tin bash their share. Be active, protestation and organise solidarity and enactment for the conscionable conflict and absorption of the Palestinian people.

Seventeen years agone during the 2009 Israeli warfare connected Gaza, I shouted from al-Shifa Hospital:

“We wade successful death, humor and amputees. Many children. Pregnant women. I person ne'er experienced thing this horrible. Now we perceive tanks. Tell it, walk it on, outcry it. Anything. DO SOMETHING! DO MORE! We’re surviving successful the past books now, each of us!”

Do something! Do more! has ne'er been much imperative.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.